


Evolution of a Nightmare

by fandomnerd



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-16
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2018-01-01 17:32:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1046602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomnerd/pseuds/fandomnerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone</i>
  <br/>
  <i>I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong</i>
  <br/>
  <i>How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay</i>
  <br/>
  <i>Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single f'ing day</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Evolution of a Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is pretty much pure self-indulgence.
> 
> Also, it takes place in my headcanon universe (which I will continue to believe in until proved otherwise) where Summer Rose, Cinder Fall, Ozpin, and Glynda were in a team together at Beacon, and that they continued to be a team until Summer "died" (I'm not fully sold on that, either). Ruby knew Cinder as a kid, because Cinder was Summer's best friend, but Summer tried to keep Ruby away from all the hunter/huntress stuff, which is why Ruby doesn't really know Ozpin or Glynda, other than by reputation.
> 
> This fic is also largely informed by Red Like Roses Part II and Gold from the RWBY Soundtrack.
> 
> You might want to also read these two posts of mine to get the full story of the Ruby/Yang scene, as there were parts of my headcanon that I had to leave out for the sake of story flow:  
> http://insidiousmisandry.tumblr.com/post/67037872293/ruby-and-yangs-foster-mom-picking-yang-up-from  
> http://insidiousmisandry.tumblr.com/post/67027546551/redmeguka-i-want-ruby-to-have-two-sides-i-want

The first time it happens is the night after her Momma’s teammates come and tell her that her Momma’s dead.

Ruby’s confused—she can feel her Momma’s aura, knows that she’s not dead, but her Aunt Cindy just gives her a sad look, crouches down, and hands her her Momma’s rose pin. Ruby’s eyes go wide, and she shakes her head. The silver-haired man chokes on a sob, buries his face in the blonde lady’s shoulder. She wraps an arm around his shoulders, her face softening a little, but she says nothing. Cinder wraps her in a hug, and despite the fact that Cinder’s body is always warmer than most people, Ruby feels nothing but cold.

_Everything is white; the ground is layered in fresh snow, and the sky is nearly as white as the ground, as if everything’s been overtaken by a giant cloud._

_The form of a beautiful woman—despite her blurry features, Ruby knows, deep in her gut, that this woman is the most beautiful, caring woman on the planet—kneels in front of her, her eyes kind. “Be a good girl, and I’ll be back soon,” she says in a kind voice, warm and even as sunshine._

_Ruby doesn’t know what to say next, but she hears her own voice, realizes that she must’ve responded. “And then you’ll stay home?”_

_A loving smile spreads across her face, and she kisses Ruby’s forehead. “I promise, I’ll come back to you. Don’t worry about it, everything will be okay, trust your momma.” She grins, and Ruby feels her mouth stretch into an answering smile._

_Suddenly, the woman’s face melts into one of confusion. She looks down, clutches her stomach. Her hands come back up bloody. She looks at Ruby, but all Ruby can see suddenly is blood. So much blood. Soaking into her pants, probably on her face, considering that her eyes burn every time she opens them. The woman pitches forward, collapses slightly on top of Ruby, who tries to keep her upright, tries to say something. But no words will come out._

_The woman’s head lolls to the side, and she sees Ruby’s white shirt, now stained with blood. “I’m sorry, Ruby,” she says, sadness etched into her features. “Your shirt…” the light fades from her eyes._

_Ruby shakes the woman, finally finding her voice, and screams at her to wake up._

Ruby wakes up screaming, soaked through with sweat. She doesn’t fall asleep again.

 

 

 

 

When she’s 7, her foster parents adopt Yang Xiao-Long. Yang, at 9 years old, is giant compared to Ruby, who is small for her age. Yang is looking at her oddly, eyes wide and fascinated, and Ruby suddenly feels shy. She ducks her head, spends the rest of the day watching Yang out of the corner of her eye. She doesn’t know that Yang is doing the same thing.

They have a room set up for Yang, down the hall from Ruby’s, but Yang is still the first one to hear Ruby that night. Yang wakes up even before the screaming begins, when it’s only whimpers, despite that she shouldn’t be able to hear her from so far away. But already she feels protective of Ruby, Ruby who is sweet and precious and good and fragile, who is tiny and cute and should never be sad _ever_ , and it’s like she’s developed at sixth sense. Yang spends a few moments hesitating before she wakes Ruby up—she doesn’t want to touch her, doesn’t want to hurt her, to break her, like she’s broken so many things before (the memory of her most recent foster family dragging her back to the orphanage, ranting about devil-children and burning in hell and cosmic irony, comes flooding back to her, and she has to restrain her own tears) but then Ruby lets out a little sob and Yang can’t afford to hesitate anymore.

She shakes Ruby gently, and Ruby startles awake just as the dream woman collapses. Ruby is disoriented for a moment—she’s not quite yet used to Yang’s face, and the startling difference between the dream woman and Yang adds to her confusion.

Yang climbs into Ruby’s bed, whispers, “It’s okay, it’s me, Yang, you’re okay, you’re safe, everything’s okay.” She cuddles up to her, enveloping Ruby’s tiny form in her larger one (for once, she thinks, her above-average height actually comes in handy) and stroking her hair. She wipes the tears from Ruby’s cheeks and hums a tune that she makes up as she goes along. Later she’ll come up with lyrics—maybe a lullaby to ward off the nightmares, something about keeping her safe and warm, the ideas are already coming to her—but for now, just the soothing sound and the warmth of human contact are enough to lull Ruby peacefully back to sleep.

It’s the first dreamless night’s sleep Ruby’s had since the nightmares began.

 

 

 

 

By the time Ruby starts at Beacon, the nightmares have mostly faded. She only gets them once every month or so. It’s manageable. She worries about it happening at school, wondering if her teammates will make fun of her, think she’s a baby. But she reassures herself that lots of people have nightmares, and it happens infrequently enough that she’ll be able to explain it away as random.

When she gets put on a team with Yang, it’s even better, because now she knows that if she has a nightmare, Yang will be right there to help her, instead of down the hall or in another dorm building.

She doesn’t have the nightmare until nearly five weeks into the schoolyear, which is a blessing and a curse. Really, it’s only a curse because it tricks her into complacency.

When it finally happens, it hits her harder than it has in years. She wakes up sobbing, dry-heaving, and her pajamas are soaked through with sweat. She’s also staring into the concerned face of one Weiss Schnee.

Weiss tentatively reaches toward Ruby’s face, to push a sweaty lock of hair behind her ear. “…I, ah, heard the bed creaking. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, except then you started crying.” Weiss tilted her head, eyes far too focused to have just woken up. She doesn’t tell Ruby that the sound of Ruby’s sobs awoke a panic in her that she hasn’t felt in recent memory, if _ever_ , and that there’s little to no chance of her falling back asleep tonight, not with her heart racing like it is. (She will not acknowledge that fear might not be the _only_ reason for her heightened pulse.)

“Does this happen often?” Weiss asks softly, her hand lingering on Ruby’s cheek. Ruby shrugs one shoulder in answer, and Weiss pulls her hand back. She regards Ruby’s form for a second, comes to a decision in her mind, and nods resolutely. “Okay, scoot over.”

Ruby looks at her, confused, and Weiss rolls her eyes even as her face erupts in flame. “You’re not the first person on the planet to ever get nightmares, okay?” A slow smile is starting to creep across Ruby’s face, and Weiss huffs. “Oh—just, shut up and let me take care of you for once, okay? It’s like you’re deliberately attempting to sabotage plans to be the best teammate ever.”

Ruby has things she wants to say—she has jokes she could make, or she could say that Weiss is already the best teammate ever, or she could tell Weiss she doesn’t need to do this, or any number of things that her mind is shouting at her. But then Weiss spoons up behind her, wraps a comforting arm around her midsection, and Ruby’s head goes silent, for once. Instead she puts a hand on top of Weiss’s, and shuts her eyes.

She dreams that she is a princess and Weiss is a knight in shining armor, come to save her and also call her an idiot.

It’s the best night’s sleep she’s had in as long as she can remember.  


End file.
